Vernier condenser



H. W. MEESEL VERNIER CONDENSER Filed Jun A rra/miv.

`Patented Dec. 22, v1925. Y

i, UNITED STATESvv PATENT ortica..

HENRY 'WILLIAM MEESEL, 01?' NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOB T0 U. S. TOOL COM- 'PANY, INC., OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, A. CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY.

VERNIER coNnnNsEB..

Application led June 4, 1924. Serial No. 717,711.

ToaZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY WILHAM MEESEL, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the city of Newark, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Im rovement in Vernier Condensers, of whic the following isa specification.

In the o eration of plate condensers in radio teleplony, and in order to make the minute adjustments for faradic capacities, it

is necessary that some kind of reducing mechanism be utilized `so that the re uisite adjustments for tunin purposes may obtained. The princip objection to the use of ars in such reducing mechanism liesin the fact that in makin use of the most aclall desidgned to accomplish the curatel cutgears an pinions for a gear tra1n,t ere 1s always present a certain backlash which renders the minuteaccurate adjustment members impossible. Y

The object of my invention is to provide a form'oflfriction train for operatx'ugbft'- rotor of a plate condenser whereby the 'ack lash of the train is completelyeliminated and very accurate capacity adjustments'can be obtained.

In the accompanyin drawing illustrating my im rovement I ave shown different forms of iction train each of which embodies the -principle of my improvement but same result,

in the awin Fig. 1 is a plan view of a condenser of the rotary plate type showing my improved friction train embodied therein.

Fi 2 is an end elevation of the back plate showing the friction train in plan.,

Fig. 3 is a similarviewof the back plate showing a slight modificationY of friction train. l

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the same,'partly in section.

Fig. 5 is a section of a pair of elements of the train.

Fig. 6 is a section of one of the` large friction wheels. Y

Fig. 7 is a section of the preferred form of friction train, showing its'detailed' construction.

n Fig. 1,1 haveshown a well known" t of rotary plate condenser,'made up"k of t e front plate I1 and back plate 2, between which the stator plates 3 are mounted and spaced apart upon the spacing bolts or members 4, 5, 6. The rotor consists of a central tubular shaft 7 ,mounted to rotate in the front and back plates 1', 2 and having mounted thereon in any convenient manner a plurality of plates 8; the condenser is usually mounted upon an insulating panel 9, with the shaft 7 projecting therethrough and havin upon its outer end the dial 10. The shaft g projects through the back plate 2 and has mounted thereon the usual pigtail spool 11 and also the lar el friction wheel12, the structure belng suc that the rotation of the shaft 7 will turn the rotor plates 8, the spool l1 and the friction wheel 12.` t

Extending through the `tubular shaft7 is the Vernier shaft 13 having mounted upon its outer end the turning knob '14 and upon its -inner end adjacent to the wheel 12 a small friction pinion 15. On the back plate 2 ad- "jacent to the periphery of the friction wheel 12 is a stub shaft 16, secured in place by means of a nut. 17. Mounted upon this stu shaft,v to freely rotate thereon, is a friction pinion 15 and a friction wheel 19 rigidly connected to said pinion 18 and of a diameter suilicient to frictionally engage the pinion 15, in fact the pinions 15 and 18 are alike in all respects, as are also'the friction wheels 12 and 19. From the structure described it will be seen that the rotation of the knob 14 will be communicated through the inion 15 to the wheel 19 and thence through t e pinion 18 to the wheel 12 thereby rotating the tubular shaft 7 and the rotor lates 8.

The structure of the whee S112 and 19 will now be described, reference being had to Figs. 5, 6. These wheels are made up of the two discs 20, 21 havingvltlhe flaringcone shaped margins 22, 23. e body of the discs 20, 21 are normally convex as shown in Fig. 6, so that when they are mounted upon the shaft 7 or the shaft 16 and compressed between the collar 24 and nut 25 ythe con- -vea'ity, of the two sections will be reduced and their contacting edges held together under considerable compression. When the two sections 20 and 21 are thus'brought to- 1n asse ling'the parts the shaft 16 is so gether they presenta V-shaped peripheral V located as to force the periphery of the wheels 1 5, 18 into the peripheral grooves of the wheels 12, 19 with considerable force, sufficient to spread two members 20, 21 apart under their normal elasticity. In this manner a close frictional engagement is obtained so that under normal conditions there is no slippage between the pinions and wheels in the ordinary operation by the turning of the knob. 14and all tendency to back lash is completely eliminated. The slightest turn of the knob 14 will be responded to by the rotation of the shaft 7 and the plates 8, in a reduced proportion depending upon the relative diameters of the wheels 12, 19 to the diameters ofthe pinions 15, 18.

In Figs. 3,4 I have shown a modified form of reduction mechanism. In this case the back plate 2, the tubular shaft 7 and the vernier shaft 13, together with all of the other parts of the condenser are the same as those above described. Upon the shaft 7 outside of the back plate 2, is rigidly mounted the large wheel 30, having the outwardly flared margin 31. The shaft 13 has rigidly secured at its outer end, outside of the wheel 30 a small pinion 32 in all respects the ysame as the pinion 15 above described.

Mountedupon the back' plate 2 is an S- shaped supporting bracket 33 secured in place by means of a nut 34 upon the corner post 5. This bracket 33 is made of spring metal and is shaped as clearly shown 1n Fig.'

4, with its outer free end overhanging mar- 7 gin of the wheel 30. In this overhanging end of the bracket is rigidly mounted a stub shaft 35 on the inner end of which is the cone shaped pinion 36, in position to engage the inner face of the correspondingly cone shape flange 31 of the wheel 30. Rigidly connected to the hub ofthe pinion 36 is the large friction wheel, 37 constructed in all respects like the wheels 12, 19 above described, and having its grooved periphery in frictional engagement with the pinion 32. The rotation of the shaft 13 will be communicated through the pinion 32, wheel 37, pinion 36 wheel 30, to the tubular shaft 7, in a reduced ratio corresponding to the respective diameters of the said wheels and pinions. In this case however, the rotation of the Vernier shaft 13 and the rotor shaft 7 will be in the opposite directions.

In Fig. 7 I have shown the preferred form ofdiscs and pinions. The arrangement of the train being the same -as described in connection with Figs. 1, 2. In this form the wheels 12 and 19 are made up of the convex discs while the inions 15 and 18 instead of having the1r eripheral edges of V-shape are simply plain discs. The marginal edges of the wheels 12 and 19 are provided with beads as shown at 22 and 23 so. that when assembled the pinions 15 and 18 are forced between said beads as clearly shown in Fig. 7, so that they are, in fact, The` pinched between the beads 22 and 23. rotation of the shaft 13 will be communicated through the pinion 15 the wheel 19', pinion 18 and wheel 12 to the rotor shaft 7 without the slightest lost motion or back lash. The frictional engagement of the beads 22 and 23 with the pinions is a yielding or resilient engagement so that the rotational reduction is accurately effected.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided a form of reduction train whereby the manipulation of the knob 14 is communicated to the rotor of the condenser in such a manner as to afford the minute capacity adjustment requisite in a device of this character, without the attendant lost motion of ordinary gears and pinions. The construction of the wheels 12, 19 and 37 of the two spring metal discs affords the necessary frictional engagement of the respective elements of the train so that the most minute adjustments can be made.

While I have shown the embodiment of my invention in two different forms, I do not wish it to be'understood as confined to those two forms of trains alone as the introduction of other idler wheels and pinions into the train for the purpose of effecting greater reductions in rotary movement Would still come within the scope of my invention and accomplish the results sought.

I claim 1. A reduction train for lplate condensers comprising a tubular rotor shaft rotatably mounted in the frame of the condenser, a vernier shaft extending through said tubular shaft, a wheel having a bearing face upon the margin of its periphery mounted upon said tubular shaft, a pinion secured upon the end of said Vernier shaft, a supplemental pinion and wheel rigidly connected together, having bearing faces respectivelyand means for mounting said supplemental pinion and Wheel adjacent tc and with their respective coned bearing faces in frictional engagement with the bearing faces of said first named wheel and pinion.

2. In a reduction train for plate condensers the combination of a double faced driving pinion, with a grooved faced wheel in engagement therewith said wheel being formed of elastic discs having marginal flanges and convexed centers and means for concentrically compressing said discs together to reduce their convexities whereby a resilient peripheral bearing face is formed. l 3. A friction wheel for a vernier condenser reduction train comprising a pair of resilient sheet metal discs having convex centers and marginal flanges forming a resilient peripheral groove in a completed wheel, and means for compressing the center.; of said discs toward each other for reducing their convexities.

4. A friction Wheel device for a Vernier condenser reductiontrain comprising a pair 10 condenser reduction train comprisinga shaft of convex discs having marginal facing having a collar thereon, ,a pair of convex beads, means for comp said discs todiscs mounted upon saidshaft, means upon gether at their centers, whereby said beads said shaft for compressing said discs against are compressed into yielding but separable said collar to reduce `their convexities and engagement and a pinion inserted between 15 compress their margins together to form the said beads, and means for rotating said yielding engaging faces. pinion to drive said discs thereby.

5. A friction Wheel device for a vernier HENRY MEESEL. 

